The Afternoon Update with Lynlee Foo

The US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady overnight, as was widely expected. Fed Chair Jerome Powell made clear that the central bank is almost done raising interest rates, but his colleagues delivered the message that resonated: borrowing costs must remain higher for longer amid renewed strength in the economy. So will rates stay higher for longer?  On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Gary Dugan, CIO, Dalma Capital, to find out more.  Highlights: 01:20 - How have markets reacted to to US Fed holding rates steady? 02:00 - What does Jerome Powell's speech signal?  03:30 - When will we see another hike?  04:18 - Will we see a rate cut next year?  05:00 - What does this mean now for equities, bonds and the US dollar? 

China’s stuttering economy has been one of the biggest threat to global commodities demand, as economic activity and credit flows in the world’s top buyer deteriorated sharply and put Beijing’s modest growth targets at risk. But with the second largest economy now showing some signs of recovery, are commodities seeing a rebound as well? And how are oil and gold prices faring ahead of the US Fed's much-anticipated verdict on interest rates? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Priyanka Sachdeva, Senior Market Analyst, Phillip Nova, to find out more. 

The dust has settled on this year's F1 weekend in Singapore, a massive global event that attracts spectators from across the globe.  And like many large scale events it has announced energy goals, the Singapore Grand Prix has  pledged to reduce 50% of their energy emissions by 2028. How will this be achieved? And what do businesses need to know about net zero events? In this week's Eco Money, Rachel Kelly speaks to Vinod Kesava, Council Member, Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) and Co-Founder / MD & CEO, Climate Resources Exchange International to find out.  SEAS will be holding a FULLY carbon neutral event in October - Asia Clean Energy Summit. 

The US Federal Reserve's updated forecasts for its benchmark interest rate - due Thursday morning Singapore - are looming as a potential decider for a Treasuries market at risk of a third year of losses.  The two key questions are whether policymakers retain expectations for one more 25 basis-point rate hike by year-end, and how much easing they are pencilling in for 2024. The Federal Open Markets Committee FOMC is also due to release its quarterly Summary of Economic Projections, which will include the "dot plot," or a glimpse into participating members' expectations regarding the future path of interest rates. So how are stocks, bonds and the US dollar reacting ahead of the Fed's interest rate decision? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Richard Bullock, Senior Research Analyst, Newton Investment Management, BNY Mellon Investment Management, to find out more. 

Singapore's non-oil domestic exports contracted for the 11th straight month in August, falling by 20.1 per cent, with both electronics and non-electronics seeing a decline. Is this a worrying sign for the economy? And what is the outlook for the Chinese economy given last week's improved data? Investors are also looking ahead to an action-packed week that includes Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan meetings. Will the US Fed stand pat on further interest rate hikes? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Tareck Horchani, Head of Dealing, Prime Brokerage, Maybank Securities, to find out more.

A bond market signal that has shown warning signs for months suggests an economic recession could still be on the horizon. According to data from Bloomberg, the 10-year and 3-month yield curve has been inverted for 212 straight trading days. This is a record that just surpassed the 1980 inversion and is now the longest stretch since at least 1962. The yield curve inverts when short-dated Treasuries offer a higher yield than longer-term Treasuries, a market anomaly that typically suggests a period of economic weakness is imminent. A significant number of bond strategists polled by Reuters also indicated the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note yield has peaked in the current cycle. What does this all mean for bond markets in the future? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Omar Slim, Co-Head Asia ex Japan Fixed Income, PineBridge Investments, to find out more. 

On The Afternoon Update, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Geoff Howie, Market Strategist, SGX for market wrap of the week. We find out how the STI fared in the past week; the biggest movers; how a newly-launched equity ETF - the largest in Singapore - between SGX and BlackRock, can spur sustainable investing in Asia; the growth opportunities Temasek Holdings is exploring in the Chinese market; and how Singapore shares reacted to recently-released US CPI data.

US inflation accelerated in August for the second consecutive month, pushed up by rising gas prices. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, core inflation, however - which excludes volatile food and energy prices - continued to slow. The Consumer Price Index, a closely watched inflation gauge, rose 3.7% in August from a year earlier, up from July’s 3.2% rise.  On a month-to-month basis, prices rose 0.6% in August, compared with a 0.2% gain in July. So what can we make of these numbers and how might it impact the Fed’s FOMC meeting next week? On Money in the Market, Emaad Akhtar speaks to Sani Hamid, Director for Wealth Management, Financial Alliance to find out more. 

Investors are eyeing new opportunities in emerging markets. They are fast becoming an attractive destination for the latter half of 2023, owing to their resilience and growth advantage over developed markets. French asset management company Amundi forecasts a 4% average growth rate for emerging markets this year, in stark contrast to 1.1% for advanced economies.  And a significant chunk of that growth is being driven by Asia, despite China's recent economic slowdown.  So where exactly are these opportunities that investors can exploit in emerging markets?  On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Alessia Berardi, Head of Emerging Macro and Strategy Research, Amundi Institute, to find out more.

Blue, Grey, Pink, and even Turquoise - its the colour that counts when it comes to sustainable hydrogen. And as conversations of the gas as an eco energy alternative heat up - Rachel Kelly speaks to Dr Thomas Koller APAC Hydrogen Lead at DNV to find out what you need to know when it comes to Green Hydrogen.